Jenny McCarthy Is In At 'The View'

Barbara Walters insisted last week that Elisabeth Hasselbeck wouldn't be replaced as a co-host on The View any time soon. Turns out "any time soon" was limited to a handful of days as Jenny McCarthy has just officially been announced as a new co-host on the popular daytime talk show.

Longtime The View fans already have some sense of what she’s like on the panel. McCarthy, has made 17 previous appearances on the show, including eight as a guest co-host. For months the media has speculated that McCarthy is likely to fill a vacancy on the show.

“Jenny brings us intelligence as well as warmth and humor,” Walters said in a statement. “She can be serious and outrageous. She has connected with our audience and offers a fresh point of view. Jenny will be a great addition to the show as we usher in an exciting new chapter for The View.”

I'm outraged. Jenny McCarthy has been an unabashed anti-vaccine advocate for years and has done irreparable harm to public health by presenting her beliefs and discredited theories as legitimate alternatives to proven science. Vaccines, like every medical intervention, are not 100% safe, but the very minimal risk is far outweighed by the proven benefits to both the individual and society. But because of people like Ms. McCarthy, a growing number of misinformed people, feeding on her paranoia, are choosing not to vaccinate their kids because of some ominous and unproven harm. We are now seeing a resurgence of preventable diseases (pertussis, measles, etc), in the US, and children are dying. Giving her a platform that lends her legitimacy will only spread her breed of ignorance and further endanger children.